1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a receptacle for a coaxial plug connector, and more particularly to such a receptacle of compact design.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed in WO 98/31078, a receptacle has been proposed in combination with a self-aligning coaxial plug connector to facilitate a one-touch connection, while compensating for misalignment of the plug and the receptacle. Particularly in the field of connecting a mobile phone to a cradle in a vehicle for switching a signal line from a phone's internal antenna to an external antenna installed on the vehicle, the receptacle on the side of the mobile phone is required to have a set of contacts for switching the signal line, in addition to a center electrode and an outer electrode respectively for connection with a center conductor post and an outer conductor tube of the plug connector. The above publication teaches the use of a pin as the center electrode projecting into a socket for receiving the plug end and two other separate parts, one being a spring member carrying a movable contact, and the other defining a fixed contact which is engageable with the movable contact to provide a normally-closed switch for switching the signal line. The pin is mounted to a dielectric mold to have its one end projecting into the socket and to have the other end engaged with the spring member so that, upon the pin comes into contact with the center conductor post, the pin pushes and deform the spring member resiliently for opening the contacts, thus establishing the signal line leading to an transceiver circuit of the mobile phone from the external antenna through the plug connector, the pin, and the spring member. As the pin and the spring member are arranged in tandem along the axis of the receptacle for enabling the above switching, the length of the pin adds an extra height dimension to the receptacle, which is a hindrance to making the receptacle compact. Further, the pin itself adds the number of discrete parts for assembly the receptacle, resulting in a manufacture cost increase.